Director and Chief Advisor for Community and Belonging

Job Title: Director and Chief Advisor for Community and Belonging

Job Type: Full time Exempt 1.0 FTE

Reports to: University President

Job Description Summary:

The Director and Chief Advisor for Community & Belonging serves as a senior institutional leader responsible for cultivating a Christ-centered campus community where all members of Calvin University are able to belong contribute and flourish while actively engaging across cultural global and experiential differences. Rooted in Calvins Reformed Christian tradition and guided by From Every Nation the Director provides vision leadership and constructive guidance for building a community marked by hospitality trust justice reconciliation intercultural competence and shared responsibility.

Working in close partnership with the President senior leadership faculty staff and students the Director/Chief Advisor advances practices that deepen belonging and foster meaningful intercultural engagement helping the campus to grow in its capacity to honor the dignity of every person as an image-bearer of God. This includes leadership focused both on the relational experience of belonging and on the learning experiences that prepare community members to navigate cultural differences with humility courage and Christian Wisdom.

The Director/Chief Advisor supports the universitys formation through collaboration discernment assessment and pastoral presence. The role emphasizes stewardship rather than compliance community-building rather than standalone programming and intercultural engagement as a vital expression of Calvins mission in a diverse and complex world.

Core Responsibilities:

Belonging Intercultural Leadership & Institutional Strategy

• Provide strategic leadership for cultivating a campus environment that reflects Calvin Universitys Reformed Christian identity and commitments to reconciliation hospitality belonging and intercultural engagement.
• Partner with senior leadership to integrate belonging and intercultural learning into institutional priorities strategies and decision-making.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the President on matters related to belonging intercultural issues and institutional health.
• Lead and oversee programs and initiatives that strengthen trust connection shared understanding and constructive engagement for all members of our campus community.

Institutional Learning Climate & Intercultural Assessment

• Support ongoing institutional learning through campus climate assessments listening practices and qualitative and quantitative measures of belonging intercultural engagement and community connection.
• Collaborate with campus partners to establish indicators of progress related to belonging intercultural learning and community flourishing.
• Monitor and report on belonging and intercultural engagement efforts through annual reports and communications to leadership and governance bodies.
• Identify areas where belonging or intercultural gaps exist and support constructive institutional responses.

People Vocation & Intercultural Formation

• Collaborate with Human Resources to support recruitment onboarding mentoring and retention practices that foster belonging and intercultural competence especially for individuals new to Calvin or from underrepresented backgrounds.
• Support professional development that strengthens cultural competency Christian hospitality and vocational formation among faculty and staff.
• Advise and collaborate on mentoring and support structures for employees from historically underrepresented and international backgrounds.

Student Formation Intercultural Learning & Community Life

• Partner with Student Life leadership to strengthen belonging cross-cultural understanding global awareness and community engagement.
• Support student organizations that promote intercultural learning global perspectives and meaningful engagement across differences.
• Contribute to efforts that ensure campus spaces traditions and practices reflect Christian hospitality belonging and global awareness.

Faculty Support Academic Integration & Intercultural Curriculum

• Serve as a resource for faculty navigating complex classroom dynamics related to cultural global or racial differences.
• Collaborate with academic leaders and faculty colleagues to support curricular and co-curricular efforts related to global perspectives intercultural learning reconciliation and faithful engagement with differences.
• Provide consultation and resources for faculty seeking to strengthen classroom belonging and interculturally aware pedagogy consistent with Calvins theological commitments.

Community Partnerships & External Engagement

• Build and maintain partnerships with local national and global communities that support intercultural learning belonging and Calvins commitments to reconciliation and public engagement.
• Represent the university in external forums conferences and conversations connected to belonging and intercultural engagement.
• Collaborate with advancement and external relations colleagues to support partnerships and initiatives that enrich the universitys intercultural and belonging commitments.

Qualifications Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

Required:

• Personal commitment to the Christian faith and its Reformed expression.
• Demonstrated ability to articulate and live out Christian commitments to community reconciliation justice belonging and intercultural engagement.
• Masters degree in higher education leadership organizational development theology sociology psychology intercultural studies or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 - 10 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education or mission-driven organizations.
• Experience leading community-building intercultural engagement or belonging-focused initiatives.
• Strong skills in listening facilitation collaboration cross-cultural communication and assessment.
• Ability to build trust across differences and navigate complex relational and intercultural dynamics with wisdom and care.

Preferred:

• Experience in faith-based or mission-centered institutions.
• Familiarity with Reformed Christian theology and its implications for reconciliation and intercultural life.
• Experience with higher-education compliance areas related to community well-being (e.g. Title VI/IX).
• Experience with global partnerships international programming or study-away programs.
• Bilingual or multilingual abilities.

Key Competencies:

• Strategic Discernment
• Collaborative Leadership
• Cultural and Theological Competence
• Intercultural Communication & Engagement
• Community-building Leadership
• Empathy Courage and Pastoral Wisdom
• Institutional Stewardship and Accountability

FAITH and EDUCATIONAL COMMITMENT

1. Commitment to the educational mission of Calvin as a Christian liberal arts University affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.

2. A commitment to the Christian faith and to the integration of faith learning and student development.

DIVERSITY COMMITMENT

Demonstrated awareness and commitment to effectively establishing relationships and positive communication across multiple dimensions of diversity including but not limited to race gender physical limitations class or religious perspectives.